Last Day

Today is my last day of testing for this cycle. Since I still have not gotten the temp shift and NKD is out of town until the 6th, it's silly for me to keep temping and wasting OPKs. If I had another sperm source, I would, but alas, I do not.
I am thinking more and more about going back to the RE for some IUIs or IVF. I don't know if I would go back to my old RE (at the fancyshmancy clinic) or try to find some where different.
Everything is in limbo right now because we have some major life decisions to make in the next month or so. I will update everyone here when I can.
As for now, I'm benched.

Trying

I'm trying not to be fearful that this cycle is a bust, but the paranoia and disappointment is creeping up on me. Today is CD26 and I still have not had a temp shift. Our last insem was on Sunday, CD24, so technically if I ovulate today we could still have a chance of getting pregnant. I think that is unlikely though. I haven't had a positive OPK since CD19. My OPKs were dark, but not positive. Yesterday's was getting lighter.
NKD is out of town until March 6th. My pre-pregnancy appointment with the new high-risk doc is on March 1st. I am going to ask about being put back on the Clomid. I am also now on 3 a day Metformin. (and oh how my body hates me for that)

Kitty Deluxe

One of our friends from church has her own little boutique in the city near our home. It is in a tiny little pink house that used to be a florist. They sell handmade jewelry, hats, scarves, books, stationary, and anything a little girl could ever want (including American Girl sized accessories). She often has birthday parties there for little girls and they love it.
Every Monday she does a give-away on her blog.
Check it out!
The online store is here.
Her etsy shop is here (although not much is listed here).
She will ship, or if you want me to be your personal shopper, I can do that too. =) Cat is a wonderful gal and will hand make anything for you. For my birthday, B told her the colors and theme of our nursery. She made me a beautiful necklace that I refer to as my "Sprout necklace." I love it.
Oh, and one last thing about Cat. Her husband, Curt, is one of the stars of an independent film made completely in Michigan called Annabelle and Bear. It looks like it is going to be an awesome film. We missed the preview this weekend because we didn't get our tickets in time and they sold out. Curt is not an actor, nor ever has been, but he fit the part perfectly and had a blast shooting the movie. Their daughter, Willow, even became an honorary member of the crew. How cool!

Another one

We are doing another insem this evening. I still haven't had a temp shift, and I am convinced that the positive OPK on CD19 was just a false positive due to my PCOS. I'm expecting another positive OPK today, so the timing should be right on. I don't think this will be a false positive either.
Fun times.
3 cheers for a very accommodating donor!

We are expecting another 4-8 inches of snow tonight (I know it's nothing compared to the snow that has walloped the east coast this winter, but ours was just beginning to melt!) I don't really want a snow day (seeing how I am already out 3 days this week due to meetings), but I really don't want to drive in the nasty weather either. Whatever happens, happens, I guess.

I leave you now with a bible verse from today's Daily Word:

Whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.--Mark 11:24

Coupon Queen

So, I admit it, I am a fan of saving money. Not saving money in a bank, per se, but getting things on the cheap. Some may call me a penny pincher, frugal, or even cheap. I really don't take offense to those titles at all.
Last night we made a stop at CVS for B's anti-vertigo prescription (poor girl's been walking around dizzy for quite a while now and just went to the doctor for a script). I love shopping around at the drug store.
I scanned my shopper card at the little kiosk and got some coupons. I added those to the ones I already had in my purse and began perusing the store.

This is what I got:
4 packages of valentine's day slinkies (for my students next year)
2 packages of cvs brand tissue
1 hair dye kit...the fancy kind
2 packages of life savers candy (the bag kind-again for my classroom)
1 bottle of body wash

After all of my coupons and $3 in extra care bucks, she told me my total.

$1.44

Even the cashier was shocked and said, "You did some good shopping!"

I love it.

No temp shift today. I am guessing that the positive opk on CD19 was a false positive due to the PCOS (I did a lot of internet browsing today to see that a lot of fellow PCOS women get false positives.) I just don't know how I will ever know when it is a REAL positive then. I emailed NKD to see if we can do an insem this weekend. I will continue to test with OPKs and hopefully will ovulate at some point. CD25/CD26 is right around the corner, so those are the other 2 days when I "typically" ovulate.

Question

When do "normal" bodies get their temp shift after a positive OPK?
I did not get one this morning, and we are now CD22. I got my positive OPK on CD19. It was not positive on CD20, and I didn't even do one yesterday (CD21) because I was so sure of the impending ovulation.
Typically, I ovulate CD21-CD23 or CD25/CD26.
If I don't get a temp shift tomorrow morning, I may see if Mr. NKD is available for an insem tomorrow. If I wasn't temping, I would feel so confident about our timing this cycle. Temping does make me crazy.

Almost in the TWW

On Tuesday I had a very positive OPK while at school, so B and I swung over to see NKD and did an insem. Then yesterday I had a negative OPK (but still a pretty dark line..clearly the down turn of the surge) so I did another insem.
Because of timing, location, and the fact that I had a sign language class to get to, I ended up doing the insem in the ISDs bathroom. Since I use an instead cup, it wasn't a big deal...awkward, but not a big deal.
I fully expected a temp shift this morning, but of course did not get it. I am just giving it up to God now. As soon as I get my temp shift and crosshairs from FF, I am stopping temping.
I feel very good about this cycle, but don't want to get to the obsessed-temping stage.

Rite Aid Game of Life

B and I have been slightly addicted to the Rite Aid Game of Life that is wrapping up at the end of this month. It is a lot like the Monopoly game that McDonald's started many years ago. If you are playing along at home as well, take a look at what we have and perhaps we can combine to win!

$250,000 Mortgage
1-
2-filled in
3-filled in
4-filled in
5-filled in
6-

$25,000 Mega-kitchen makeover
12-
13-filled in
14-
15-
16-filled in

$1,000 Cash Game
25-filled in
26-
27-filled in
28-

G37 Convertible
7-filled in
8-
9-filled in
10-filled in
11-

$50 Cash Game
41-filled in
42-
43-filled in

$50 Gift Card
44-filled in
45-filled in
46-

$10,000 Room Makeover
17-filled in
18-
19-
20-

Wii Game System
29-
30-filled in
31-filled in
32-filled in

$5000 Cash Game
21-filled in
22-
23-
24-filled in

$250 Gift Card
33-filled in
34-filled in
35-
36-

$100 Gift Card
37-filled in
38-filled in
39-
40-filled in

$20 Cash Game
47-
48-filled in
49-filled in

$20 Gift Card
50-filled in
51-filled in
52-

We currently have 10 entries in the cruise sweepstakes.

MIA

I feel like the follicular stage of my cycle is so boring, until its time for impending ovulation. Because of my typically late ovulation, my follicular stage lasts a while and usually during that time I go through a bit of a lag in blogging. Add on top of that a computer that is being repaired, and you get a MIA J.
Today is Valentine's Day, and my dad's birthday. If B is feeling better than yesterday, we will head to church and then head to my parents' house for lunch. Then it's home to spend the day together. We typically do not do presents for Vday or Sweetest day, but we did buy each other small gifts this year. Neither one of us was impressed. I think its best we go back to NOT buying each other gifts. =)
The best part of this weekend was going to the local Aveda Institute for a relaxation treatment and haircut. When we left, I hated my haircut (super short, but she didn't know what she was doing so the educator had to come over several times and teach her with my head). The educator had to finish the cut entirely and because it was "shift change" my hair cut lady was packing up her booth while the educator was cutting my hair. The educator had to ask her to move out of the way of the mirror so she could see what she was doing. Neither one of them put any product in my hair and I left there feeling like I had a bad hairpiece on (ala Donald Trump). When I got home, I wet it down and re-blew it dry. I added product and it ended up not being so bad. I got a lot of compliments on it and when I showed my friends a picture of what it looked like immediately after leaving the salon, they could not believe it was the same haircut.
I guess that is all for today. It's CD17 and I turned the CBEFM on just for fun to see what it would say (remember I got the false PEAK on CD12), well, it actually asked me for a stick, so I obliged. Low. I don't know how accurate the monitor actually is for this cycle, but at least I have my stick to compare.

Poem

My friend Karen sent me this poem this morning. It is very sweet.

Ask my Mom how she is.
My Mom, she tells a lot of lies.
She never did before.
But from now until she dies,
She'll tell a whole lot more.

Ask my Mom how she is,
And because she cant explain,
She will tell a little lie,
Because she cant explain the pain.

Ask My Mom how she is,
She'll say "I'm alright."
If that's the truth please tell me,
Why does she cry each night?

Ask My Mom how she is.
“I’m fine. I’m well. I’m coping”
For God’s sake Mom, just tell the truth.
Tell them your heart is broken.

She’ll love me all her life,
I loved her all of mine.
But if you ask her how she is,
She’ll lie and say she’s fine.

I am here in Heaven,
I cannot hug her from here.
If she lies to you don’t listen
Just hug her and hold her near.

On the day we meet again,
We’ll smile and I’ll be bold.
I’ll say, “you’re lucky to get in here, Mom,
With all the lies you’ve told!”
(Author Unkown)

CD12-WTH?

I got a PEAK on the monitor this morning.
CD12. It went from 3 days of lows to PEAK.
I haven't seen that little eggy in quite some time, but I sure wasn't expecting it today.
I am guessing it is due to a faulty stick. The blue dye was smearing.
I am not sure if the monitor will continue to test accurately now. I know normally after one PEAK day it automatically gives you another PEAK day. I am not sure what will happen tomorrow morning.
My plan for today is to pee on an OPK while at school. If it is positive, we will arrange for our donor to stay at a hotel near our house (how awesome is he that he is willing to drive in the snow that is headed our way all day today and tonight?!)
I am guessing that it will not be positive, though. I did have a temp shift downward today, which for some people is an indication of impending ovulation. For me, I think it was an indication that I did not sleep with the down comforter or pants. =)

33rd cycle

When I logged into FF this morning I noticed that I am on my 33rd cycle since I started charting. For a typical person, that is just short of 3 years, right? Well I started charting in August of 2006 . We didn't start actively trying until November 2007. So, technically, we have been at this TTC business for 2 years and 3 months. 4 of those months I was pregnant. 3 of those months we were on a financial break from trying. So out of the 27 months we have been trying, 7 of them don't count...which puts us at 20 months of actively trying to get pregnant. Since my cycles are a week longer than an "average" woman, I can divide 20 by 4 and take off another 5 months of trying. This puts us at 15 months of trying to get pregnant. However, we have only tried 11 times (since some cycles were longer). It still seems like a lot, but the "typical" person takes 1 year to get pregnant. Not too bad. I can't believe I just ran through all of that math and all of those rationalizations.
33 is my favorite number. "Typical" 1 year to get pregnant....this cycle is it.
I'm just sayin' =)

Today is CD9 and the first day the CBEFM asks for a stick. This cycle has officially started!

Our computer has some sort of spy-ware on it that I cannot get rid of. I have run avast a few times, and each time it finds viruses and adware, but the problem still persists. It is also preventing me from doing much on fertility friend. I have been updating my FF at school.

Records

I have had no problem at all requesting records. Everyone has been so helpful and nice today!
SCORE!
As a professional courtesy, they will send them over to the new doctor's office free of charge. I just had to fax a medical release form to the different offices and we were all set to go. Awesome.
I feel like we are moving in the right direction.
I feel like we are being pro-active.
I love this feeling.

March 1st

I now have a "pre-pregnancy" appointment at the prenatal diagnostic unit at my local hospital scheduled for March 1st.
I now have to gather all of my medical records and fax them over. While I am eager to look at my medical records, I am not so eager in the process of obtaining them. I wonder if the offices will be able to get them copied and mailed by the time my appointment rolls around. I also hope I do not have to go to said Dr.'s offices in person because of HIPAA. (I'm fearful they won't let me request records over the phone...but maybe.)
I upped my Met dosage and am now taking 2 a day. Eventually I will get back to 3 a day, but right now my body is still adjusting to the increase. I will say it has taken the edge off of my constant hunger that has came around lately.

CD5-a random update

Last year, in September, after switching OBs, I got a referral for a perinatologist.
My new OB was concerned about the second trimester miscarriage and thought this doctor would be able to help me during subsequent pregnancies. I never called. I kept waiting for each cycle so I could call and say, "I'm soandso many weeks along." Well I guess it's time to just call and have the pre-conception work-up done. Maybe by the time I actually get the appointment I will be soandso weeks along.
I'm bummed about last cycle, but not devastated, which in turn makes me feel guilty. Ah, the cyclical nature of hormones and TTC...
Small Groups have launched at our church. B and I signed up for an LGBT group (even though we are already involved with a church sponsored LGBT group). I was thinking there should be a TTC group. I'm going to pray on that and see if I should go through the small group leader training next time it comes around.
Tax return time is my favorite time of the year. We have decided to switch the room we were calling "the baby's room" to the office and put the office in the old "baby's room." I am very excited about this move. We decided to do this because the current office is much bigger and after picking up the beautiful crib that we had purchased a long time ago from a friend, we realized we needed more space in the nursery. I'm hoping to get this project done in the next month or so.
This has been a very random post today. Thanks for sticking with me! =)